Fall From Grace
by Lucinda
Summary: Crossover with Forever Knight, also QPC 122. Willow is brought into a new family while exploring Toronto.
1. Fall From Grace

Dark Quickie challenge fic: Fall from Grace  
  
author: Lucinda  
rating: pg 13  
pairing: Willow/LaCroix #122 in Quickie Challenge list  
Quickie Challenge at   
disclaimer: I do not own anyone from BtVS or Forever Knight. LaCroix' monolog is quoted from Forever Knight.  
distribution: any list-archives submitted to, Twisting the Hellmouth, Quickie Challenge. Anyone else, please ask.  
AU after S6 Buffy, some spoilers for 7.  
  
  
She'd gone back to Sunnydale, hoping to in some way make atonement for her grief crazed foray into evil scary darkness. She'd nearly been slaughtered by a skin eating demon. The only person who'd tried to save her had been Spike. There was some definite irony in the fact that she now owed her life to the vampire who'd tried to kill her and threatened to repeatedly, and her 'friends' had been willing to just let her die.  
  
Sunnydale had been painful, and not just the physical pain from the demon. There was nothing that sent a clearer message of not being wanted than her 'friends' watching an evil demon peeling strips of skin away and eating them while they did absolutely nothing.  
  
With that clear expression of just how things stood, she'd seen no reason to stay. She'd offered apologies which had fallen into stony silence. She'd refrained from doing anything magical in front of them, but they'd still watched her, eyes filled with distrust, suspicion, and fear.  
  
So, she'd given Spike her thanks for saving her life, which he'd accepted awkwardly, with a muttered 'don't go spreading that around... ruin my reputation.' She'd given him her cell phone number, saying that if he needed anyone to talk to, just give her a call. She'd told him that she had 'returned, saw, and decided it wasn't worth hanging around'.   
  
She'd set off on a rambling tour of the pacific northwest, visiting places that she'd never seen. Small towns that reminded her of the way Sunnydale had pretended to be, small cities, even larger cities. She felt like she was looking for something, searching for some quest. Maybe she was trying to find herself, or return to her inner balance. It didn't really matter... she didn't have anywhere that she had to be, so it didn't matter if she kept traveling around.  
  
Today, she'd arrived in Toronto, lured by the appeal of some of the history and architecture. Her parents had been there once, and she could remember spending hours looking at their pictures from the trip. Now, she was the one here, and she intended to take the opportunity to see things and places. To enjoy her time here, for however long it lasted.  
  
She had been out late, looking through small stores, meandering through rows of clothing and accessories, attempting to remind herself of how normal people lived. People who's one time friends didn't hate them, people who'd never tried to end the world. She'd ended up buying a delicate silver ring with a pale green stone, simply because it was pretty. Now, she was walking back to the hotel where she'd was staying. Night had come, sliding in without fanfare, leaving the sky clouded and the streets masked in shadows.  
  
There wasn't the same feel to the night as there was in Sunnydale. Toronto's night felt full of secrets and the swarming lives of thousands of people, a welcome contrast to Sunnydale, where the night carried the feeling of fear and evil. Toronto's night felt almost alive, with the muffled sounds of life continuing on, heedless of the light or dark.  
  
She'd decided to stop at a little club, feeling the need to be reminded of how people had fun. The first one that she came to was called the Raven, and she made her way inside. It was dark, and a bit gothic, and put off a strange feeling that crawled over her skin. But there were people here, dancing and drinking and having fun. She made her way over to the bar, getting a cup of coffee and finding an almost quiet spot to occupy, watching the people.  
  
There was a radio playing for the bar area, some local station with a late night talk show. The man's voice curled around her like chilled velvet, and he was commenting on the world today with a dry, razor edged wit. But that was alright, rather entertaining to listen to actually. Until he gave a few 'words of wisdom'.  
  
His voice seemed to go a bit deeper, as if he was opening up a bit more of himself over the airwaves. 'What a wonderful thing humanity is, passionate, intelligent, inquisitive, generous, full of hope and joy, noble of spirit and above all.... delicious.'   
  
Willow could feel every hair on her body prickle in what could only be a warning. There was something wrong... something dangerous about or involving that man, the Night Crawler. She had a feeling that he was trouble, dangerous.  
  
She finished her coffee and retreated to her hotel room. Part of her mind knew that she was hiding, hoping that the big scary danger wouldn't find her. But, realistically, why would something or someone in Toronto be searching for her? Nothing would be, and she would only need to worry about coincidence and chance. Surely, she could handle coincidental danger?  
  
It took her most of the day to convince herself that she as being silly. There wasn't a dark, ominous thing searching for her. Nothing stalked Toronto seeking a willowy shaped snack. She had no prophesied danger to face. But she was still a bit uneasy as she walked back from the just closed art gallery, having stayed until they had gently insisted that it was time to close. Once more, the streets were shrouded in darkness. She shivered, not from the temperature, but from a sudden sense of foreboding, as if some big change was looming in her future.  
  
Something made her skin prickle, some un-named sense whispering that there was danger here, right behind her. She'd learned to listen to that little sense, and turned around slowly, feeling her heartbeat racing. Everything was in extremely sharp detail, and she felt herself aware of every little scent and faint noise. Someone was standing there, someone who radiated a feeling of cold power and age in a manner that eclipsed anyone she'd faced in Sunnydale. This was a vampire... his pale eyes haunted by pain, loss, and something that hovered on the edge of madness.  
  
Willow's bad feeling got a whole lot worse. There was a vampire right there, and he was looking at her. There was something in his expression, a sense of calculation and planning that sent chills down her spine. But the last flickering shred of hope compelled her to make an effort. "I don't suppose I could just go away and forget that I was ever here?"  
  
"Lovely Red, I don't think so. You look so lost, and all alone in this world. Who do you have to turn to? Friends? Family? A lover, perhaps?" He was moving slowly closer to her as he spoke, the same dark velvety voice from the radio show, the Night Crawler.  
  
"And your solution is to take me out of it?" She could hear the slight tremor in her voice, knowing that it came from fear.  
  
There was a blurring that she could almost follow, and he was there, one cold hand gripping her arm above the elbow, the other gently brushing her hair away from her face as he spoke, his voice a low whisper that only she would hear. "No, sweet red. I'm going to change everything for you. You will become my daughter."  
  
She could feel his sharp teeth in her throat, feel her strength being pulled away into this man, this vampire LaCroix. Images flickered through her mind, glimpses of history from all over the world. Rome, Greece, Egypt... the middle ages and trying to teach a handsome you knight named Nicholas... his son Nicholas rejecting him, calling him a monster that had condemned him to darkness... darkness that Nicholas had freely chosen once... the death of Nicholas and his mortal lover... the death of his daughter Jeanette. LaCroix was alone in the world now, his existence a boring shell of pain and loss...  
  
In some ways, it wasn't to different from her own shattered life. But he was starting over, creating a new family to rise from the ashes of this desolation. And he'd chosen her.  
  
Everything had grown dim when she felt him pull away from her throat, and he spoke once more, a single word as he pressed his now bleeding wrist to her lips.  
  
"Drink."  
  
Willow swallowed, hoping that her new family would be better than the old, that this time, she would not be abandoned and alone.  
end Fall From Grace. 


	2. Landing at the Bottom

author: Lucinda

rating: pg 13

pairing: Willow/LaCroix #122 in Quickie Challenge list

sequel to Fall from Grace

Quickie Challenge at http/quickie. I do not own anyone from BtVS or Forever Knight.

distribution: any list-archives submitted to, Twisting the Hellmouth, Quickie Challenge. Anyone else, please ask.

AU after S6 Buffy, some spoilers for 7.

Everything felt cold, her body stiffly unresponsive and prickly numb, the swirling air, the bed that she was laying on... everything was cold. There were so many sounds, the distant traffic, a few radios set to different stations, and the faint sound of somebody pacing, soft soles shushing over the floor... stone tiling, perhaps?

For a moment, she lay there, her eyes closed as she tried to remember what had happened, who she was. Her mind felt caught between the same numbness of her body and flickering images and wisps of dreams, there had been something about a person in a long pale robe? She was Willow... and she'd been walking in an alley, searching for... what had she been searching for? There had been a man, no a vampire. He'd bitten her, she could remember sharp teeth sinking into her throat.

One hand flew to her neck, wrapping around, feeling only smoothness. Her throat was undamaged, whole and smooth and still beneath her hand. Without a pulse or breath.

She was dead. But she was still here to realize that she was dead. He'd turned her into a vampire. That was bad, she could almost remember the reason, something about a blonde girl with a sharp stick...

She must have made some sort of noise, because the pacing stopped. If the man from the alley had turned her, and brought her here, then it could only mean that he really had decided to keep her with him. To make her part of his family, his daughter. He'd said he would give her a new family, said that she would be his daughter, but... what did that mean to him?

Angelus hadn't been a good father for any of the people that he'd turned. Spike... well, Spike had never turned a Childe, so there wasn't really any way to tell what sort of father he would be. Her own parents, her mortal parents had been terrible. Not abusive, no, abuse would have required them noticing her first. They had just sort of sailed in and out, blithely ignoring the fact that they had produced a child once upon a time. She could only hope that this man, this vampire that had turned her would take care of her, would teach her.

After all, nothing that she'd learned in Sunnydale had prepared her to BE a vampire. She pulled her knees up, her stomach clenching into a tight knot, painfully contracted. She whimpered as it clenched again, her hands white knuckled fists from the pain of it. What was happening to her now?

"You're feeling the hunger. It shouldn't become so severe if you feed regularly, but since you're only just waking up... You will have many things to learn, my Childe." He was standing beside her, his pale eyes looking almost alive, eager for... something. The rest of him was frost and ashes, pale hair, deathly pale skin, dark ashen clothing. All somber colors, and also the sort of clothing that he could fight in, if desired.

She looked at him, something that felt almost like tears oozing over her cheeks, leaving a trail behind it. "It hurts... Sire. Who... are we still in Toronto?"

He settled on the bed beside her, one pale hand resting over hers, the firm calluses rough on the back of her hand. "Yes, we are still in Toronto. My name is Lucian LaCroix, you will need to know it among others. As for the hunger pains, they will ease once you've fed."

A tremor went through her body. Would she become a soul-less killer now, as ruthless and amoral as the vampire double that she'd met thanks to Anya? The idea repulsed her. Although the thought of biting into someone's throat, feeling their blood rush into her mouth, hot and sweet... it made her mouth water, and she immediately felt guilty. She clenched her hands tighter, trying to find a semblance of control. "What... I don't hear any heartbeats. What shall I eat? Or am I expected to go hunting on my own?"

He looked at her, his expression one of the most intense surprise. "You've only just woke up. You won't be ready to hunt on your own for a while. Where did you get the idea that I would go to the trouble of making a childe only to allow you to destroy yourself by hunting untaught?"

She lowered her head, staring at her knees instead of his angry eyes. For some reason, his anger hurt, made her feel unworthy. "I come from Sunnydale. We... there are vampires there, and they... I would be pretty much on my own now, if this was Sunnydale, expected to go hunt, and help in some plan for the local master to gain power, and avoid getting killed by the Slayer."

There was a noise, sort of a grating sound, and she realized that he was grinding his teeth. "This is not Sunnydale, and there are far better vampires out there. Did you think a parent would be so neglectful? So negligent with their children? What of your mortal parents, would they leave you out on your own?"

A small, bitter chuckle escaped her at his last question. "I've only seen them a handful of times in the past few years. My parents wouldn't even notice something different unless I... they wouldn't know, wouldn't care."

"Then I shall have to do better. You won't be hunting until you're ready." He put his arm around her, pulling her close as he tilted his head. "Drink now, it will help your hunger."

She couldn't resist the temptation. With a small noise, she was there, arms around him, lips brushing against sharp teeth as she sought his throat, seeking the carotid artery. She could taste age and power in his blood, and it had a cool, almost smokey taste to it. She drank eagerly, feeling it spread through her, strengthening her, the painful clenching of her stomach easing, relaxing as his powerful blood flowed into her.

Eventually, her body was no longer screaming in raw need and hunger, and she slowed her drinking, not wanting to take too much, not wanting to draw her sire's anger. Licking at the bite she'd left, she winced. It was a harsh, ragged tear in his flesh, looking deep and ugly. Despite that, he was relaxed, arms gentle around her as he held her near him.

"Sire? I didn't take too much, did I?" She felt all timid and nervous again, as if she'd regressed to her freshman year of high school. Part of her hadn't wanted to stop, had wanted to keep drinking from his power until she couldn't hold any more. She craved him, wanting to taste him, touch him, to be near him. To make him proud of her in a way that the Rosenberg's never had been proud of her.

He smiled, one hand brushing over her cheek, pushing a lock of hair behind her ear. "No, you didn't take too much. I think that you'll do well in your new life."

Hope fluttered inside of her, feeling like dark red butterflies in her stomach. "How do you know? What if... I haven't exactly done wonders elsewhere."

He laid a finger over her lips, stopping her words. "Nonsense. You've accomplished a great deal. There's nothing to prevent you from accomplishing more through the centuries ahead. And I will be there for you, to guide you, to advise you, to protect you."

"Always?" She had the warmest feeling inside from his words.

"Always. Blood is far thicker than water, and can not be ignored. I will always be there." He had leaned closer, his words a bare whisper into her ear.

Willow smiled, finding his words the most reassuring and comforting thing she'd ever heard. "Always... not going to just fly away on business constantly, and tell me how I should be doing things based on statistics?"

"No statistics. I don't use numbers to teach my children." His hand was at the small of her back, delightfully strong and solid.

She leaned forward just the tinniest bit, her lips brushing over his. "I always wanted to belong, to have someone that would be there if I needed help."

He kissed her, more confident and overwhelming than the feather-light brush of lips that she had offered. "You belong now. You are my childe, my Willow, and I will always be there, even if I'm not in the same city. One day, years from now, you will be ready to live on your own, but not yet. Even then, you will be my Willow."

She smiled as she surrendered to his touch. She finally had somewhere to belong, someone that would be there for her. And all she'd had to do was die.

end Landing at the Bottom.


End file.
